Christian Bale has already said that he wanted to see another actor don the Batsuit, referring to the lucrative role as "a torch that should be handed from one actor to another." But would he return for $50 million?
Fans of Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight Trilogy" were abuzz this week with recent British media reports that the 39-year-old actor had been offered that whopping sum of money to reprise his role as the Caped Crusader in Warner Brothers' forthcoming "Man of Steel" sequel, widely considered to be called "Batman Vs Superman."
If true, The Guardian's Ben Child writes, Bale "would bring all the box office clout of Christopher Nolan's trilogy of Batman movies and also fits the bill for the older, jaded take on the superhero."
Not quite, though. Entertainment Weekly points out that the rumors stem from an ebook written by author Vincent Russel. In "Beyond Batman: The Unauthorized True Story of Christian Bale and His Dark Knight Dilemma,," Russel says he once had a conversation with a friend at Legendary who said "Bale could probably make $50m for being in the movie 20 minutes.”
Writes EW's Jeff Labrecque:
Now, let’s assume Russel’s former colleague is a top Legendary executive and that everything he said accurately reflects the company’s thinking… That still doesn’t equate into what’s being reported by many outlets today. There is no $50 million offer, based on a speculative conversation that took place eight months ago. The confusion isn’t necessarily the fault of Russel — who relied on “exclusive interviews, online research” for his $2.99 ebook — but the number of outlets that hurriedly ran with the news, most likely because of their steadfast belief that this type of announcement is inevitable.
In other "Man of Steel" sequel casting buzz, "Breaking Bad's" Bryan Cranston recently told Metro that he's up for the role of supervillain Lex Luthor.
“Give me a call,” Cranston said. “I like Lex Luthor. I think he’s misunderstood. He’s a loveable, sweet man."
